jessicahester1's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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poison

A Sea Anemone's Venom Can Change Over the Course of Its Life

Shifts in age and environment can alter toxins.
March 7, 2018
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everyday objects

Help Us Choose the Most Overlooked Invention

Introducing Mundane Madness, a bracket challenge to anoint the world's most quietly amazing gadgets, implements, and tools.
March 7, 2018
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fossils

How Geologists Peer Inside a Rock

After they found prehistoric fossils in the Canadian Rockies, researchers pulverized them to make 3D reconstructions.
March 6, 2018
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skeletons

Found: A 127-Million-Year-Old Fossil of a Fledgling

These tiny, prehistoric bones tell a story about flight.
March 5, 2018
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wax anatomy

How a Dead Philosopher Makes a Transatlantic Trip

Jeremy Bentham died 186 years ago. Now conservators are transporting his "auto-icon" from London to New York for the first time.
March 2, 2018
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genetics

How Many Species of Ravens Are There?

It's surprisingly hard to tell.
March 2, 2018
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mammal

How Whale Calls Change Over Time

They start out babbling, and get a lot more eloquent. Sound familiar?
February 27, 2018
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winter

Edmonton Embraces the Cold by Turning Park Paths Into Frozen Skating Trails

The capital of Alberta leans way in to its frigid winters.
February 27, 2018
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everyday wonder

How to Spot the Fossils Hiding in Plain Sight

Traces of prehistoric life are everywhere.
February 23, 2018
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ornithology collections

The Centuries-Old Mystery of How Florida Got Its Flamingos

How did these statuesque birds get to the peninsula, and where did they go?
February 22, 2018
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drones

Why Drones Are Counting Thousands of Decoy Ducks

To test the gadget's data skills, researchers speckled a beach with fake fowl.
February 20, 2018
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fatberg

How a Museum Cares for a Giant Chunk of Dried-Out Fat

A conservator shares the nitty-gritty details about taking a fatberg from the sewer to an exhibition.
February 16, 2018
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britain

London Wants Its Hedgehogs Back

How do you make a city more hedgehog-friendly? Step 1: Drill some holes.
February 15, 2018
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ash

Making Pottery From the Ashes of the Sonoma Wildfires

A ceramicist is offering people who lost their homes a way to remember—and look to the future.
February 14, 2018
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photography

An Otherworldly Photograph of a Single Atom

It is suspended in the skinny gulf between two electrodes.
February 13, 2018
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genetics

The Bats That Never Get Old

They eventually die, but their cells stay forever young.
February 8, 2018
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behavior

The Surprising Diversity Among Schools of Fish

They're not a homogenous crowd.
February 7, 2018
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knitting

The Most Adorable Way to Learn Anatomy Is With Knitted Organs

Using needles and yarn, a medical student is working his way through the human body.
February 6, 2018
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behavior

Rats Can Trade Favors

The wildly social rodents will work for snacks.
February 5, 2018
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brain

What's Going on Inside Woodpeckers' Brains?

Researchers pried open the skulls of birds in museum collections to take a closer look.
February 2, 2018
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birds

The Bird That Can Picture Its Predators

"Snake!"
February 2, 2018
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herring

The Curious Case of the American Landmark That Floated to Canada

An unlikely international incident surrounding a wayward brining shed.
February 1, 2018
Gastro Obscura
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ancient technology

When Ancient Writing Is an Art, Science, and Snack

If you're going to practice writing cuneiform, why not do it on a cookie?
January 30, 2018
Gastro Obscura
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bacteri

Human Waste Could Help Astronauts Grow Food in Space

Researchers enlisted microbes to create a model for a self-sustaining food web. But the finished meal looks like goo.
January 29, 2018